An eDNA Survey of Plant Biodiversity in a Local Dam Within South Africa's Largest City.

ABSTRACT: Ecosystems within cities can play a crucial role in conserving local biodiversity amid rapidly expanding urban sprawl, but they face significant threats from anthropogenic activities and the introduction of alien invasive species (AIS). A comprehensive management plan is required to effectively preserve the biodiversity supported by urban ecosystems. However, the ecological information needed to establish, implement and monitor such plans is often incomplete. In this study, we assessed the application of eDNA metabarcoding in surveying plant biodiversity in an aquatic habitat by collecting water samples at five sites in an urban dam in the City of Johannesburg. Out of 1001 reconstructed Amplicon Sample Variants (ASVs), plant taxa were assigned to 47 unique taxonomic ranks at the family lev

SUBMITTER: Nhlengethwa N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12476927 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature